The Student Government Association (SGA) approved four new clubs at its first meeting of the spring semester on Sunday, Feb. 12. The five vacant spots on SGA will also be filled during the dorm presidency elections this week.

Proposed by Emily Nadel ’14 and Andrew Beauchesne ’14, the Colby Running Club was unanimously approved. The club will organize noncompetitive group runs for any interested students, regardless of skill level. Though created in the interest of the general student population, the Colby Running Club is open to out-of-season athletes as well as first-time runners.

“Overall, we would just like to provide a social group for all the people who do run on campus,” Nadel said. She described the club as a forum where runners “can get together and share their thoughts on running or training in an open, noncompetitive community.” If enough interest arose, the group would also organize teams for, and help provide transportation to, local community road races.

Kayla Diaz ’14 and Max Cushner ’14 advocated for the creation of the Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, which passed and will largely focus on exposing students to animation art and film. Diaz said, “We want to explore animation from various parts of the world, but mostly focus on Japanese animation because that’s our personal preference.”

The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture will work to bring professionals from the animation industry to campus to hold lectures about the inner workings of the business. In addition, the club hopes to host a Japanese animation film festival at the end of the semester. “It’s an exciting way to expose people to Japanese culture through film,” Diaz said.

SGA approved the Charles Hamilton Houston Pre-Law Club, which will be the first pre- law related group on campus and will provide an outlet for students to read about and discuss social issues with students who are interested in law. Uzoma Orchingwa ’14 and Shane Rogers ’15 presented the club, and Orchingwa said, “We realized there really isn’t anything like this at Colby, and as students interested in law we decided we needed to form something.”

Named after Charles Hamilton Houston, a prominent lawyer in the early twentieth century who mentored Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the club will offer a broad and inclusive arena for discussion. “It would be a place where students who are interested can come talk about law and their career decisions,” Rogers said.

Mackie Sewall ’12 proposed the creation of the Colby College Museum of Art Student Association, which would attempt to bridge the gap between the student community and the campus museum, the largest art museum in Maine. “They seem like separate entities, so I’m looking to create a tangible connection between the student population and the museum,” Sewall said.

In an effort to attract interest, the club would host frequent events, such as pub nights involving art related trivia, projects, raffles and gallery talks. “In the summer of 2013, the museum is going to reopen at its full capacity, and it’s going to be one of the largest art events in the Northeast,” Sewall added.

Recently returning from a Board of Trustees meeting, the Executive Board announced the trustees’ approval of a full-time Sexual and Gender Diversity Resource Officer, a position that will be filled for the 2012 fall semester. SGA has also been working on plans for the upcoming Winter Carnival and Pugh Community Board S.H.O.U.T. weekend.

According to Treasurer Lane McVey ’12, SGA spent only 45 percent of its budget during the fall semester, allowing the organization to contribute funds to the S.H.O.U.T. weekend and provide free student movie tickets at Railroad Square Cinemas for the next two Wednesdays. A number of new ideas were raised and tabled for further discussion as SGA looks ahead to a busy spring semester.